By unlocking the export potential China offers the pig industry, not to mention the red meat sector as a whole, we could gain entry into a marketplace which comprises a fifth of the world’s population.Tenant farmers 'losing out' on Single Payments
SOME tenant farmers are being deprived of their Single Payment Scheme entitlements after their landlords used ‘unfair clauses’ in tenancy agreements, the Tenant Farmers Association has claimed.
The association has said following the implementation of the SPS in 2005, a number of landlords required their tenants to sign up to new tenancy agreements which contained clauses forcing them to give up their SPS entitlements to the landlords at the end of the agreements without compensation.
A large number of such agreements were taken out for a five-year period and are now coming to an end, while others were in place for seven years and will be coming to an end in 2012.
TFA chief executive George Dunn said while some tenants were well placed to resist the insertion of clauses which would have seen their SPS entitlement taken away by the landlord for no compensation, many others were given no option and had to sign for fear of losing their livelihood and, in many cases, their homes.
He said a code of good practice was issued in 2004, stating it would be unfair to force tenants, who had been allocated SPS entitlement, to give it up for little or no consideration in comparison to its value.
Mr Dunn said at the time Defra sent a copy of the code to all major landowners in the country, urging them to take heed when discussing tenancy agreements. However, while many landlords did act reasonably, it was becoming increasingly clear that a number, including some private landlords and institutions, decided to ignore the guidance.
He said Defra had given an assurance it would monitor the situation to see if further measures were required to preserve a fair balance between landlords and tenants. He urged affected tenants to contact the TFA, which was now gathering evidence to send to Defra.
Farming Prospects 2010
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Readers' comments (4)
Anonymous | 9 February 2010 2:27 pm
This is an asset which was given to farmers for no consideration which reduces the rental value of the land if removed. It should transfer with the land for no consideration.
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Anonymous | 9 February 2010 6:27 pm
WE have rented a farm since 2008 and are unable to claim sps, we were told that, because the landlord did not regester the land before 2005 ,could any body tell me if there is any way we can claim on this land
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Anonymous | 10 February 2010 0:11 am
The 'steal' started in year one. So much for Lord Whitty's promise that they would review how tenants and graziers were faring as SPS was implemented. From having SAP for 500 ewes and a reasonable cheque each year we have gone down to an area based payment on an entitlement of just 6.4 Ha - the only land we could register thanks to a couple of kindly landlords. SPS was always supposed to be for those farming the land but despite still farming the same 350 acres we now get no SPS from it but still get hammered for cross compliance. All my neighbouring graziers and tenants had the subsidy stolen by their landlords, one Town Council even now pretends to be a'farmer' and is claiming on 250 acres of marshland grazing despite doing absolutely no environmental maintenance themselves but insisting the rent paying grazier does it. 'Talk to your landlord and come to a fair agreement' they said. On what planet did they think we farmed on?
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R Dunbye | 3 April 2012 4:25 pm
We own a 200+ acre farm that is "stolen" under an AHA Tenancy (as the original tenancy agreement in 1945 sets out a year by year review with a yearly notice to quit option but this has been "swallowed" by the 1986 Act so that they can't be touched for 250 years or so) - the farmer pays £6000 per annum rent. He gets 200+ acres a 4 square farmhouse, a farm cottage (that he lets out as a holiday cottage), farm buildings and a Single Farm Payment of about £18000 per annum. Is this fair on the landlord ? If it's not fair, which it obviously isn't, what can be done about it ?
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